Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 10th, 2022
"It's called life."
Kevin Costner plays John Dutton. The name itself recalls those years as a kid watching the myriad western shows that crossed our television screens throughout the 50's and 60's. He's the owner of Yellowstone Ranch, which takes up hundreds of square miles and borders on the national park of the same name, which we never do get to see. What we do see are the other borders of the Yellowstone. It borders a large and mostly impoverished Native American reservation. All of this takes place in the open ranges of Montana, where the Yellowstone Ranch looks very much like the fabled Shiloh of The Virginian. There's the big mansion where Dutton and some of his family live and the bunkhouse where the cowboys who work the cattle sleep, play cards, eat, and fight. Looking over the scenery, one can almost imagine you were back in the days of the untamed frontier. John Dutton might have some old-fashioned ideas of how to make a living, but he's a rich man who uses modern technology when it serves him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 9th, 2022
"My name is Kara Zor-El. When I was younger, my home planet was dying. Saving it was hopeless. My father sent me to Earth to take care of my baby cousin who went before me, and I thought we were the only two survivors, and that everyone else from our planet was dead, including my father. I can't lose him again."
They say all good things must come to an end, and for the fans of CW's Supergirl, that end has finally arrived. Arrow started it all so many years ago and has been off the air a couple of years even though the CW DC universe has been coined The Arrowverse. The Flash will remain as the likely flagship for the joined universe with Legends Of Tomorrow, Superman and Lois, and unfortunately Batwoman keeping the last embers alive. I suspect that it will all close shop within the next two years. It's been a good run with some exceptional superhero television and some memorable characters, but we're in the home stretch, to be sure. But you can't just step in after a decade of Arrowverse unseen. If you have not seen the show before, you must at least go back and check out the previous five seasons. It'll be worth the time. You can also take a look at all of our reviews of Supergirl here: Supergirl Reviews.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 4th, 2022
If I’m being honest, it’s been decades since I saw the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and I’m not even sure I saw the whole thing, but I do remember the ending. It’s not that I feel it’s a bad film; I just have had no need to revisit it because I enjoy the 1978 version so much. The startling ending of this film is quite infamous. For those who haven’t seen it, I won’t spoil it for you, but it is a moment that has stuck with me since I first watched back in the old VHS days. Since the 1956 film has been out, there have been several takes on the material, and numerous bad knock-offs as well, but for me, the 1978 film with Donald Sutherland and Jeff Goldblum will always be the true classic in my eyes. Getting this title to review, it’s been ages since I’ve seen the film, so I was excited about revising this classic. I wasn’t sure it would hold up, but what surprised me most was simply how relevant the film remains with its themes of not conforming to the populace to even the paranoia about becoming a pod person in current terms infected with COVID.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on March 3rd, 2022
"They think I'm hiding in the shadows, but I am the shadows."
You have certain expectations when you go to a superhero/comic book movie. Sure, it changes a little depending on the character that you're going to see. But there are certain things that all of these films tend to have in common. There's an expectation of frantic action and some mind-bending special f/x. You're looking for colorful villains who tend to act over-the-top and always provide that gentle wink back at the audience. When these expectations aren't met, audiences tend to be disappointed, and big budget films can end up costing the studios huge in the end. Even as we appear to be reaching the last days of the limited pandemic crowds, that risk gets multiplied. It also doesn't help if audiences are still riding the high off the first big global billion-dollar film in almost three years. That's the kind of headwinds The Batman is facing when audiences line up to see the return of one of the oldest and most famous heroes in comic history.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 3rd, 2022
This 1974 film has previously been regarded as an Italian version of the widely successful American supernatural film, The Exorcist. It’s been suggesting that The Antichrist was an attempt to cash in on some of the success that the American film experienced a year earlier. After watching it, I don’t see why the two films can’t coexist. Whether or not the American film had any bearing on this one will never be determined, but it stands to reason that if you enjoyed that one, there is no reason that you won’t enjoy this as well. I suppose there is the risk of it feeling redundant, but a little redundancy has never bothered me. Besides, if you can’t deal with films with similar premises and themes, your lists of viewing pleasure is going to shrink exponentially. I won’t spend a lot of time comparing the two films for couple of reasons: one, I believe that would be doing this film a disservice, given that I found it mildly entertaining; and two, it’s quite some time since I watched to The Exorcist, so my memory of it is slightly foggy. That said, I believe that will give me an objective view of The Antichrist, because I won’t waste undue time with comparisons.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 2nd, 2022
Remakes are nothing new. They've been around for as long as there have been films. Today we appear to be dominated by the remake, but they've been around forever. There are many reasons to do a remake. Often, like the case of Peter Jackson's King Kong and the recent Kong/Godzilla movies, it's because technology has taken us to a place where we can do things on the screen that the original filmmakers couldn't have dreamed of. Other times it's merely a classic story that stands the test of time, and every once in a while someone wants to attach themselves to that history. Yet other times there's more that can be added to the story, or there is a fresh perspective to what came before. While many of these types lead to sequels and reboots, they still lead to the remake. Then there are those remakes that are almost a shot-for-shot imitation of the original with no apparent reason to exist other than to capitalize on the name. I really don't want to put the 1997 made-for-television remake of 12 Angry Men in that category.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 2nd, 2022
“At present your home is not safe, even when you are there. So protect yourselves. Be sure to have good locks, good security systems. I’m addition, you might consider getting a watchdog. And I’m not necessarily talking about a large dog. Any dog that can bark will make a good watchdog.”
Well, this dog does a lot more than bark in this 1979 family-friendly comedy. Standing for “Canine HOMe Protection System,” C.H.O.M.P.S. is the story of a young inventor who creates a revolutionary home security system that is as cute as it is effective: a robotic dog that is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. Given that he modeled the robot after his actual pet, that creates a couple of funny hijinks later on in the film, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. The film stars Wesley Eure, an actor popular for his starring roles in family-friendly entertainment that includes Land of the Lost, Finders Keepers, and the educational television series, Dragon Tales.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 2nd, 2022
It’s amazing how a pretty face can get you act against your better instincts. Letting someone you just met, a complete stranger, move into your house and giving access to your top-of-the-line security system. Yeah, that is not something that happens unless the person is breathtakingly beautiful. Incidentally, Lily Krug fits that description to a tee. She is a knockout beauty without question. However, looks alone wouldn’t have been enough, given the dark turn her character was destined to take; there had to be some malice behind those eyes. She had to have the eyes of a heartless and calculating sociopath. Did she deliver? Let’s just say, whenever I see her in future roles, even if she is playing a protagonist, it’s going to be hard not to see the predator that I know is lurking behind her eyes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 1st, 2022
On May 5th 1980 film producer Euan Lloyd was on-hand for 17 minutes while the Iranian Embassy in London was raided by Britain's elite Special Air Service (SAS) to free hostages taken by a terrorist cell. He immediately ran back to his house and called his agent to register several film titles, including Who Dares Wins, which was the original shooting title and British release title of what in America came to be The Final Option. It's important to understand that it was never his intent to do a film about the exact event but use that inspiration to do a film that often mirrors that of the actual raid. Instead of using the actual terrorists and their motives, he felt it was important to make the story not about the bad guys so much as it would be a celebration of the bravery and actions of the SAS. He invited the actual SAS to participate. They declined but eventually offered him some under-the-table assistance when they saw what it was he was trying to do. Those motives have created a bit of a controversy over the film throughout the years, and Lloyd has been accused of making a right-wing propaganda film, which if you actually see the film, you'll quickly realize it is not.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 1st, 2022
In 1999 when Man on the Moon was released, Jim Carrey was pretty much one of the biggest comedic stars in the industry, though at the time I don’t think audiences were prepared to see Carrey make such a departure despite it being a career best performance. This was one of those box office failures that shouldn’t have been, but to be fair, 1999 is one of the most stacked years of great films, though how Carrey didn’t even get a nomination is baffling. So what are my thoughts after revisiting the Andy Kaufman bio-pic that was penned by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (Ed Wood and The People Vs. Larry Flynt) and directed by Milos Foreman (One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus)? The opening scene pretty much sets the tone for the film you are about to see with Andy Kaufman (Jim Carrey) breaking the 4th wall to address the film the audience is about to see. He goes on to tell them that the movie is over, and the credits roll and eventually the screen goes to black.
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